Temple, thus far, has compiled one of its best early season marks. Currently ranked #16/17 in national polls, The Owls defeated top 5 ranked Villanova on December 13. Two of its three losses came at the hands of ranked teams. Georgetown edged Temple, 46-45, and the Owls were blown out by Kansas, then #1 ranked. Its only other defeat was by the St. John’s Red Storm.

Fordham, on the other hand, has started horribly. Its head coach, Derek Whittenburg, was fired after coaching the first five games of the season. The slow start followed a 3-25 record in the 2008-9 season. The current head coach, Jared Grasso, the youngest head coach in Division I men’s basketball, has led the team to only one victory in 12 contests.

The background of the two teams seemed totally irrelevant as they battled evenly during the first half. The score was knotted three times and the lead changed hands five times during the first 10 minutes. A layup by Fordham’s Chris Gaston at 9:25 gave Fordham its final lead of the game. The half ended with the visitors leading, 22-19. The stats for the teams were very similar. Both shot below 30% from the floor. Each only netted two treys and grabbed 18 boards.

Temple’s three more free throws than Fordham were the difference between the two. Veteran coach Fran Dunphy spoke of his team’s poor start, “I have no idea why we start so slow. We had decent looks in the first half, but we didn’t make them.”

Temple adjusted well in the second half, and began the period with a 16-4 scoring run to take a 38-23 lead with 13:45 remaining. Temple continued its domination of the contest, raising its advantage to 23 points. Fordham closed the game outscoring the visitors 14-8, but it was too little, too late. Temple’s shooting from the floor was outstanding. The Owls netted 16 of 24 attempts, 7 of 9 from beyond the arc. Dunphy credited his bench players, who outscored Fordham 26-12, for creating the separation during the second half. Sophomore Scootie Reynolds, averaging less than two points per game, scored all 12 of his points in the second half on four of five from three point range. Grasso talked of his team’s inability to play effectively for 40 minutes,

“We played 22-23 minutes, and ran out of gas.” Grasso, as he often does, spoke of the youth of his freshmen dominated squad, “We showed how young we are. In the second half, they made more shots, and we didn’t respond. Sometimes, you see the difference between upperclassmen and freshmen.” Grasso did speak very positively of the effort his players make, “They’re playing hard. The effort is there. I’m not disappointed.”

Freshman Chris Gaston of the Rams, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, continued his double digit average in both categories with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

There was a similarity in how both games were played. The two teams battled competitively throughout the first half in each contest. Fordham’s opponents, after a lengthy scoring run, took a double digit lead that could not be overcome. The young Fordham squad was outclassed in experience and cohesiveness in each game. Fordham’s first year head coach Jared Grasso, the youngest NCAA Division I coach in the nation, replaced ousted former coach Derek Whittenburg on December 3. Grasso explained each loss with similar words. On Wed he said, “I’m proud of the effort, but we have to be 40 minutes good, not 25 or 30.” After Saturday’s game in the Bronx, Grasso opined, “They’re freshmen; they don’t know what it takes to play 40 minutes.”

Fordham trailed 16-7 at the 12:36 mark of the opening half of its rare game at MSG. An 18-7Saturday’s result at home was much the same  scoring run by the Rams tied the game at 24 with 3:07 left in the half. The halftime score was a surprisingly close 31-26 in favor of Dayton. Fordham earned its only advantage of the contest, 36-35, at 17:37 in the second. Dayton them made its second half surge. A 17-3 Flyers scoring run brought the team a 52-39 lead with 12:32 remaining. Dayton reached a game-gh advantage of 21 (69-48) with 4: 34 to go in the contest.

The visitors took an early lead on Saturday, but the game was tied six times and the lead changed hands four times in the first half. Fordham final advantage of the game was the same score as its only lead on Wednesday, 36-35. It occurred with 1:36 remaining the first half. Rhode Island netted the final five points of the half to go ahead by a 40-36 score. After two more tied scores, the Rams of Rhode Island sco0red 16 unanswered points to go ahead 68-46. After a long 30-4 scoring the run, Rhode island earned its largest lead, 28 points, 76-48, The lead decreased in the final minutes, but the result was already decided.

Jim Baron, a four-time winner of the A-10 Coach of the Year Award, spoke of the reasons for his team’s victory, “I thought it was two different halves. [In the second half], I thought we did a much better job defending and sharing the ball. We played very aggressive and intense.” Grasso talked of his team’s youth and his faith in its future improvement, “Our freshmen play more minutes than any team in the country…We have to get tougher. We have to learn to fight through adversity. We’re getting better. We’re getting better than we were two weeks ago. I know we’re going to be good with these young guys.”